What Atlanta stations are NOT going all-Christmas on Christmas Eve and day? I'm not trying to go all Bah Humbug Scrooge -- I'm just curious. For example -- AN106.7, are they going to buck the trend and keep a standard format clock? How about 92.9 The Game and 680 and 790? I believe I remember WSB has a skeleton news crew last year, but played all Christmas music. Christmas was on a Sunday, does a Tuesday make a difference?
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Non-Christmas on Christmas Day
- Thread starter fortt3
- Start date
For many years WSB (at least AM750) ran "An American Christmas", a24-hour music/vignette/inspirational (but not spiritual comments. Have no idea of its origin. Heard it on other stations so it was syndicated. I think B985 usually stayed with the music.
Will be interesting to see if anyone breaks format next Monday and Tuesday.
Several years ago (during the Viet Nam unpleasantness), WCBS-AM would provide telephone calls from the troops to the states, and then would play them back during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day while they continued on with a slimmed down news format.
In the early to mid 1960's, WQXI during its R&R era, carried a syndicated hourly news package of the events in the world at the time of Christ's birth while they played traditional Christmas music. Seems to me it may have been something UPI Radio produced since it featured a lot of "actualities."
Will be interesting to see if anyone breaks format next Monday and Tuesday.
Several years ago (during the Viet Nam unpleasantness), WCBS-AM would provide telephone calls from the troops to the states, and then would play them back during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day while they continued on with a slimmed down news format.
In the early to mid 1960's, WQXI during its R&R era, carried a syndicated hourly news package of the events in the world at the time of Christ's birth while they played traditional Christmas music. Seems to me it may have been something UPI Radio produced since it featured a lot of "actualities."
If I remember correctly ever since 750 WSB has been simulcast on FM (95.5), they have not run the syndicated Christmas music. Instead they have run best of shows. The only Christmas related programming they have had is the traditional "Call in to Santa" program on Christmas Eve the past few years (since Christmas was a Sunday last year they ran the paid church programming etc).
The past several years 680 has run whatever ESPN Radio has broadcast, which has been a bowl game followed by a year-end special repeating for several hours and then live football or basketball depending on what day Christmas landed on. I suppose that will move to 790 since they are now the ESPN affiliate.
The past several years 680 has run whatever ESPN Radio has broadcast, which has been a bowl game followed by a year-end special repeating for several hours and then live football or basketball depending on what day Christmas landed on. I suppose that will move to 790 since they are now the ESPN affiliate.
jabba17 said:
I believe they're still playing just 4 Christmas songs per hour. But if you listen at the top or bottom of the hour, it sounds like it's every other song. I've been wondering why if they're playing just 4 songs an hour, they play them almost together like that instead of spreading them out within the hour.
I will bet that the Cumulus translators will not nor will Power or Wild.
Going up and down the dial finds that Star 94 has been in All-Christmas mode since this morning. All the Country stations (The Bull, Kicks, & WNGC) have done the same as of Noon. No All-Christmas yet over at B 98.5 (will they at all?).
92.9 is still live and local sports talk. 680 is running the Fox national feed and after airing Mike & Mike, The Zone has a local show going at this hour. 750 is running a guest host for Rush. Everything else seems normal so far. I'll update at 3 PM and this evening.
92.9 is still live and local sports talk. 680 is running the Fox national feed and after airing Mike & Mike, The Zone has a local show going at this hour. 750 is running a guest host for Rush. Everything else seems normal so far. I'll update at 3 PM and this evening.
It used to be Peach was the station B had to watch to make sure they flipped to Christmas at the right time. Then when Peach went away, it became the Fish. Obviously it's not the Fish anymore. If B isn't watching Star 94, then they don't seem to be watching anyone.Brian Donegan said:
I wonder if PPM is telling a different story these days in Christmas listenership than diaries did.
One interesting anecdote: A young lady friend of mine posted on FB that she hates Christmas music, as in the AC/MOR/standards stuff you usually hear. Do Christmas standards no longer resonate with today's CHR/M, hot AC, and AC listeners? I seem to hear more and more oldies and classic hits stations pick up the Christmas banner (of course, ATL has none of those kinds of stations right now). Has the pop-and-rock Christmas playlist been narrowed to AC material, and thus caused a backlash among those who don't care for standards/MOR, soft AC, and mainstream AC? Does the CHR explosion of late need to pick up the slack with some contemporary-sounding, seasonal hits of its own?
Another thing I have noticed: AOR also quit playing much Christmas a while back. Some of it may have been burnout on AOR Christmas standards like Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (96 Rock used to burn the hell out of that song every year), "Father Christmas" by the Kinks, and "Christmas Is The Time To Say I Love You" by Billy Squier. You don't hear those songs very much at all on regular AOR stations like Rock 100.5, and they're comparatively rare on even classic rock stations where you would expect them to be in their wheelhouse this time of year.
Country, of course, has long played Christmas music and the industry reliably comes out with new material and seems to be the exception.
Good point. I'm actually surprised that no Country station has tried an all-Christmas music format. I did an experiment with Spotify. While there are some standard albums missing on the service you could put all the Country Christmas material and play them all for a week without repeating a track.
As for going up and down the dial, nothing really new to report. I think B is going to stick with playing 1-2 Christmas songs an hour. Extremely lame.
As for going up and down the dial, nothing really new to report. I think B is going to stick with playing 1-2 Christmas songs an hour. Extremely lame.
I can report that WDUN 550 is in All-Christmas mode right now. Oddly they seem to be running their own mix of music instead of a syndicated package.
680 is live with guess for Chuck & Chernoff. WSB is live with a Christmas talk show and 790 the Zone is running ESPN's National feed.
Unrelated - I live in Gwinnett and I am hearing a Spanish station between Power and The River that I haven't noticed on the dial before. What station is this?
680 is live with guess for Chuck & Chernoff. WSB is live with a Christmas talk show and 790 the Zone is running ESPN's National feed.
Unrelated - I live in Gwinnett and I am hearing a Spanish station between Power and The River that I haven't noticed on the dial before. What station is this?
Brian Donegan said:
The station is La Mega 96.5, a translator owned by Davis Broadcasting. It's on the 97.1 tower near Chateau Elan.
Well I think we've got our answer. Q100 is now All-Christmas. Star has been cranking out the joy all day but B hasn't, is not now, and won't. Wow. You can't call yourself "Atlanta's Holiday Music Station" and not play all-Christmas tonight and tomorrow. Shame on the Scrooges in charge over there.
To answer some other questions. All the sports talkers are doing...Sports including The Game is still live and local at this hour. 106.7 is still all-news and neither Power or Wild is touching Christmas...but all those were expected.
To answer some other questions. All the sports talkers are doing...Sports including The Game is still live and local at this hour. 106.7 is still all-news and neither Power or Wild is touching Christmas...but all those were expected.
AN106.7 is running the same long form ABC Radio programming beginning at 8:00 PM Christmas Eve through 5:00 AM Wednesday morning. There will be five or six minutes of news at the top and bottom of each hour. This is the same type of thing they did for Thanksgiving. I believe Cumulus required AN106.7 to clear the programming. Nothing was saved in labor as all of the needed parties were there just to put together the five minutes of news together.
Interesting...
104.7 is still in Christmas mode this morning. In the 10 or so years they have played all-Christmas music they have always stopped at 12:01 AM December 26th. I've always thought that since they play a mostly sacred mix that they should continue beyond Christmas Day since the Christian Christmas season goes beyond December 25th. I don't particularly care for the contemporary Christian musical sound but as a station they have done wonderful things this season, helping out many in need in the community through their "Christmas Wish" fund.
104.7 is still in Christmas mode this morning. In the 10 or so years they have played all-Christmas music they have always stopped at 12:01 AM December 26th. I've always thought that since they play a mostly sacred mix that they should continue beyond Christmas Day since the Christian Christmas season goes beyond December 25th. I don't particularly care for the contemporary Christian musical sound but as a station they have done wonderful things this season, helping out many in need in the community through their "Christmas Wish" fund.
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